Dear Aunt Shannon,

Happy Birthday!!!

Hope you got to steal the remote.Borrow a friend's bed to play.Got to relax with a good book (aka TIvoed royal wedding).Played with old friends.Got all jazzed up....And had a fun Birthday!!!Love,
Baby Westin

November: Westin's Birthday Month!

Can you believe that Westin is almost a year old?!! It is pretty amazing to his Mama and Dada. We decided to kick off Westin's Birthday month with Noni and Aunt Shannon's visit.

On Sunday, we had a smaller dinner and Westin got his very own cupcake. We sang to him and blew out a candle, and thought, there is NO WAY that our baby boy is going to eat the whole cupcake, so why not just let him have it.....Oh, there have been so many instances, where the 'Parents of the Year' distinction would have been very apt, perhaps this was not one of them. Because, as you can see, he DID eat the whole cupcake. Shockingly and surprisingly , a cupcake at 7:00pm is most certainly NOT conducive to a good night's sleep...for anyone. Westin, however, was not complaining. Westin was happy happy pants, And needed to be completely hosed off.

The good thing about a November birthday is that it gives the newly one year old solid practice in opening presents for Christmas. Aunt Shannon was kind enough to give Westin some new Auburn gear, and a fun bag. The little Monkey had tons of fun pushing on pooh's nose. Noni helped Westin open a couple of really cool presents. Westin got a little sailboat that he can pull around. This came with plush figures Wink, Blink and Nod...these find their way around the room and often on Copper's dog bed. Westin uses the sailboat to tote blocks and his Elmo phone. It is official; Westin can empty as well as he can fill and put away! He also tried to stack today...but that will be another post at some point. Westin has found that the sailboat can launch nicely across the room...why pull, when you can throw? Westin also got a 'Follow Me Fred', which moves on its own and can follow you. This was both fascinating and terrifying. Luckily, Noni was there to make it all better. Also happy to report that Westin and Fred have made peace and are happy little play friends.

A little bit of Moore trivia, the first Moore to visit the Vermillion ER was.......Mama. Thankfully, not Baby Westin, despite what the permanent bruise on his forehead might suggest. We enjoyed so much time outside that some South Dakota bug bit/stung me and my left eye became enormously swollen. Too bad, it didn't happen for Halloween. I would have had a wicked cool costume with very little effort. Aunt Shannon and Noni watched Westin, while Dalen whisked me away to the ER. I had to spend a couple of days on some heavy duty drugs, but I am happy to report that I can see out of my left eye again :). And, no, there are most certainly no pictures documenting this blessed event.

Noni's B'day Celebration

First, my apologies to Aunt Shannon and Noni for taking a week to get up pictures from their first South Dakotan adventure! To make up for it, there will be 2 posts!! Too many cute pictures to cram into one post.

Election week was a tough week. It was the first time since I was 18, that I could not vote--because we were not registered in time. Turns out that the DMV office in Vermillion is only open on Thursday's and Friday's...hope, you like waiting in line! We also closed on our Hamilton house. This was emotional for many reasons. I will spare everyone the elaboration.......It was a crazy busy week at work (cloning has commenced in the Moore Lab!), and flu shot week (poor Baby Bean!)

Needless to say, seeing Aunt Shannon and Noni at the tiny Sioux City airport was MORE than AMAZING..it was like Dalen's Italian Wedding Soup on a cold, rainy day and like Auburn beating Georgia and going to the SEC Championship (War Eagle!)--all wrapped up into one! It was cool bringing them to our new home for the first time--Dalen has been working hard to help if feel more like our home. That night we ate dinner at the nicest restaurant in town, Red's. Aunt Shannon quote of the day: "Wow, it's almost like being in a restaurant in Atlanta". Hey, we just recently got indoor plumbing too--just in time :). Anyway, the beautiful thing was that the stresses of the previous week were just melting away......Westin amazed them with his standing skills and how well he is sharing/playing with Copper (Copper is also appreciative of this particular new skill:)).

We could not have asked for better weather. It was sunny and in the 70's during the day and the 50's at night. So we took them on walking tours of our little town and neighborhood. Say what you will about Vermillion (and, yes, sometimes it does smell like cows), but it has a lot of character and cool old homes.
We also celebrated Noni's 60th B'day. Dalen cooked an amazing meal and we had some wonderful cake from Monica's. Westin enjoyed some cake...just a little sliver, but enough to pitch a royal fit, when Dalen took it away, so Noni and Aunt Shannon had to calm him down. Tough night all around, right?? We really appreciate Noni and Aunt Shannon making the trip--it's true: it is easier to get to South Dakota than Montana. That's good news for everyone!

Happy Halloween!

Well it's been a busy couple of weeks. We have been to Omaha, but Westin decided it's more fun being a monkey than seeing one in a zoo (okay, technically he saw an ape, but you know what I am saying). We have been enjoying Saturday Game Days. I don't know how you get ready for the Big Game, but Westin and Dalen gear up for the game playing the bongos. Whatever works; those Auburn Tigers are on fire! War Eagle!

Tonight Westin and I sat out on the front porch eagerly awaiting trick r' treaters. We did more waiting than handing out treats and eventually got chilly. Halloween's in Hamilton were truly magical, and this Halloween in Vermillion was underwhelming. Maybe it was off because it is a Sunday night. Who knows. But by 7:30 pm, Westin decided that he was done with Halloween. So we came back inside to play, and low and behold, he pulled himself up for the very first time! I know pretty spooky. Hope that you had an excellent Halloween too!

Westin v Hardwood Floor

I guess you know who won that battle. A hardwood floor really lacks any give for a young tot trying his feet for the first time. What happened? Dada was pulling some clothes out of the dresser, and Westin thought, 'Hey why don't I stand up?!". So, he did. And everything was great, until the little Bean let go and did a full face plant on the floor. When I walked in for lunch, Westin was crying hysterically and Dada looked white as a sheet. My Baby had a swollen nose that was a little bloody and a bump over his left eye. I admit that I had a moment when I cried with my Baby. Did we want to take him to the Emergency Room? Um, YEAH! We are first time parents and so far, this is the most traumatic injury that WestinBean has suffered. After reading the baby book on what to look for for 'traumatic brain injury' (cue the snickering from more seasoned parents), we decided that we were probably overreacting. In the end, Westin, of course, is fine...and for the record, two days later, so are Mama and Dada. :)

Bean's and the Orchard

Happy Native American Day! I know that most of you spent the day as Columbus Day, but not here in South Dakota. They legally changed the day to Native American Day!

Yesterday, we ventured up to Harrisburg, SD to visit the 'Country Apple Orchard'. They have Apple Orchards AND pumpkin patches AND a super fun Pumpkin Festival. The festivities included giant inflatables that you can crawl through, a riding lawn mower-pulled train, a veritable petting zoo, hay rides, ponies that you could ride, ducks and geese to feed, and plenty of pumpkins. It was worth the drive and are plotting next year's adventure. We are anticipating that Westin will be all over Halloween next year. His Halloween outfit is purchased and delivered. Stay tuned for the reveal!

This week's fav reads (in order): That's Not My Teddy, One fish two fish three fish, The very hungry caterpillar.

D-days and On-the-Move

It was a big weekend! It marked our first Dakota Days, aka, D-Days inVermillion. We have been hearing about D-Days since we moved in. Basically it is a week long celebration for USD's Homecoming. I don't know how the game turned out yesterday, but the Parade was a lot of fun (even though it was chilly, bright and during Westin's naptime). We bundled up yesterday morning and went for the first hour. Yes, first hour. We honestly thought the parade was done, then we saw the second wave coming down the street. There are floats and politicians and strange community organizations (ie The Oriental Band..I don't have a picture because they had large swords and lots of musical equipment, so you will have to take my word), and a lot of fun. Hamilton would have parades, but this was the happiest that we had ever been too. You couldn't tell which party the Politicians belonged to, so you could actually meet the people and figure out if you like them. That was refreshing.

Westin is motoring around. No longer can we set him down with toys and expect him to be in the same place, not even for a second. This is in sharp contrast from a week ago. He was getting around, but in the past week, he has mastered speed, and the ability to hone into where he shouldn't be (ie wall outlets). He has two modes of transit: the tripod crawl,and the belly slide. The belly slide is fastest, but the tripod allows the most versatility. CopperDog does not know what to think about Westin's new skills. Copper used to be able to sit just out of reach..well those days are over! Over the past couple of weeks he has also discovered his shadow. This morning, he was particularly interested in it and was singing it a song. Westin's top reads for the week (in order): That's not my teddy..., The very hungry catepillar, and That's not my plane.